Beaujolais, located to the directly south and adjacent to Burgundy, administratively it also belongs to Burgundy, but is nevertheless a completely individual region with a different climate, grape varieties and above all, different soils. While the climate in Burgundy is rather cool and the soils there consist mainly of limestone, the climate in Beaujolais is already influenced by the Mediterranean, and due to the predominant granite soils, one variety in particular grows here - Gamay. The total vineyard area is about 20,000 hectares. The region was named after the small town of Beaujeu, which was founded around the 10th century AD and is located in the mountainous area in the west of the region. With the improvement of transportation routes in the 20th century, especially to Paris, Beaujolais became increasingly popular in France. By the early 1970s, these wines were in such demand that they were released shortly after harvest and fermentation as Beaujolais Primeur or Beaujolais Nouveau. Unfortunately, this was very detrimental to quality, as the wines were produced using the carbonic maceration method, which produces wines that are drinkable early, fruity and very short-lived. No wonder, then, that wines from Beaujolais fell into disrepute, at least among more demanding wine lovers. Yet the region certainly has a lot to offer. Especially grapes with the provenance Beaujolais Villages and those from the so-called "Crus" in the ten municipalities of Morgon, Juliénas, Fleurie, Saint-Amour, Chénas, Moulin à Vent, Chiroubles, Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly and Régnié are produced and vinified according to classical methods from much smaller quantities. They bring a soft, velvety, full-fruited and appealing wine to the glass, which may be allowed a few years of ageing potential. A small proportion of production is accounted for by white wines based on Chardonnay and Aligoté.
